Method and apparatus for clearing paper jam in a printing device

ABSTRACT

A paper clearing mode is provided in a printing device such as a copier or printer to automatically eject stopped sheets of paper after the jammed paper is manually cleared. The printing device indicates on a display panel only the location(s) of the jammed paper, i.e., the jam location that triggered the print engine to stop printing. The display does not indicate to the user the locations of other sheets of paper that are stopped along the paper transport path but not jammed. Following the displayed instruction, the user manually clears the jammed paper, but does not clear the stopped sheets. After the jammed sheet is cleared, the printing device automatically discharges the stopped sheets from the paper path as a part of the jam recovery process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to printing devices such as copiers and printers, and in particular, it relates to printing devices implementing a method for clearing paper jam in printing devices.

2. Description of Related Art

Paper jam is a common problem for printing devices such as copiers and printers. For relatively small types of printing devices, such as desk top type printing devices, clearing paper jam is relatively straightforward. Some of these devices can discharge partially printed sheets of paper from the paper path after the user removes the jammed paper. For production type printing machines, especially machines with one or more finishing units such as staplers, hole-punchers, etc., the paper path is relatively long. When jam occurs in such a printing device, in addition to the jammed paper (the sheet of paper that causes the jam), other sheets of paper can be stopped at multiple locations on the paper path. In conventional devices, a user has to manually open multiple covers to check the paper path, find the stopped sheets and clear them (i.e. pulling them out). When manually pulling the paper out, the user is often not able to keep the paper intact, and as a result small pieces of paper are often left inside the printing devices. This makes paper jam even more difficult to clear. Moreover, sometimes improper manual handling can damage parts of the printing device, such as sensors, and put the printing device out of service.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a printing device and related method for clearing paper jam that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to make it easier for the user to clear paper jam.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the descriptions that follow and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims thereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these and/or other objects, as embodied and broadly described, the present invention provides a method implemented in a printing device for clearing a jam in a recording medium transport path during processing of a job, which includes: detecting a jam condition in the recording medium transport path including one or more locations of jammed sheets of recording medium and one or more locations of stopped sheets of recording medium; notifying a user the locations of the jammed sheets without notifying the user the locations of the stopped sheets; receiving a user input indicating that the jammed sheets have been cleared; and ejecting some or all of the stopped sheets from the transport path.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a printing device including: a recording medium transport path; a plurality of sensors located along the transport path for detecting recording medium jamming or stopping conditions; a control section for controlling the transport path; and a user interface section connected to the control section for generating output signals and receiving user input signals, wherein the control section detects a jam condition in the recording medium transport path including one or more locations of jammed sheets of recording medium and one or more locations of stopped sheets of recording medium based on signals received from one or more of the sensors, controls the user interface section to generate output signals to notify a user the locations of the jammed sheets without notifying the user the locations of the stopped sheets, and controls the transport path to eject some or all of the stopped sheets after receiving a user input signal via the user interface section indicating that the jammed sheets have been cleared.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a process for clearing paper jam in a printing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a printing device implementing a paper jam clearing method according to embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

According to embodiments of the present invention, a paper clearing mode is provided in a printing device such as a copier or printer to automatically eject stopped sheets of paper after the jammed paper is manually cleared. The printing device indicates on a display panel only the location (or locations) of the jammed paper, i.e., the jam location that triggered the printing device to stop printing. Following the displayed instruction, the user clears the jammed paper. The display does not indicate to the user the locations of other sheets of paper that are stopped along the paper transport path but not jammed, and these stopped sheets are not required to be manually cleared by the user. After the jammed sheet is cleared, the printing device automatically ejects the stopped sheets from the paper path as a part of the jam recovery process. The jam recovery process also determines which page or pages of the print job need to be re-printed, and either automatically carries out the re-printing or displays instructions to the user to re-print the appropriate pages.

Using such a method, the user only needs to clear the jammed sheets and the printing device can complete the rest of the jam recovery process. This method is particularly suitable for large printing devices with relatively long paper paths. It reduces manual handling and reduces the risk of damage to the printing device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary printing device implementing a paper jam clearing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. A printer is used in this example, but the printing device may also be a copier or an all-in-one machine that combines printing, copying and scanning functions. As schematically shown, the printer 20 includes a control section 21, an image processing section 22, a print engine 23, an input/output (I/O) section 24, and a user interface section 25. The printer 20 may also include one or more finishing unites 26. The control section 21 is connected to and controls the operation of the other sections 22 through 26 of the printer.

The image processing section 22 performs various image processing functions. The I/O section 24 communicates with external devices, including receiving print data from an external computer, via a network or other communication connections. The user interface section 25 includes display devices such as an LCD panel for displaying paper jam conditions, clearing instructions, and other information to the user. It also includes input devices such as buttons for receiving commands from the user. The print engine 23, which for instance employs an electrophotographic process, forms an image on recording media (e.g. paper) based on the image data sent from the image processing section 22. The finishing units 26, commonly referred to as on-line finishing units, are either integral parts of the printer 20 or are mechanically and electrically coupled to the printer. The paper transport path of the printer 20 includes the paper transport path within the print engine 23, within the finishing units 26, and other components such as a sheet feeder.

The printer 20 has various sensors, schematically shown as sensors 231 in the print engine and sensors 261 in the finishing units, along the paper transport path to detect paper jam conditions including the locations of jammed sheets and stopped sheets, and to transmit detection results to the control section 21. The implementation of such sensors and detection method is known in the art.

FIG. 1 illustrates a process for clearing paper jam in a printing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method is performed by the printer 20 under the control of the control section 21. First, the printer 20 detects a paper jam condition, and determines the location(s) of the jammed sheet(s) and the location(s) of the stopped sheet(s) (step S11). The printer then displays the jammed location(s) to the user using the user interface section (step S12). The location(s) of the stopped sheet(s) are not displayed. The display also includes instructions to the user regarding how to clear the jammed sheets. The display may use graphics or text to display the jammed locations and the instructions. Other than a visual display, the printer may use other means to notify the user of the paper jam conditions, such as audible beeps, lights, etc.

Following the displayed instructions, the user manually clears the jammed sheet(s), then uses the input buttons of the user interface section to enter an input indicating that the jammed sheet(s) have been cleared. The user does not clear the stopped sheet(s). Once the printer receives the user input indicating that the jammed sheet(s) are cleared (step S13), the printer ejects the stopped sheet(s) from the paper transport path (step S14). These stopped sheets may include fully printed sheets, partially printed sheets, or not yet printed sheets. The printer then performs the subsequent jam recovery process, including, as appropriate, re-printing some of the sheets, re-starting the printing process from the appropriate place of the document being printed, etc. Alternatively, the printer may eject some but not all of the stopped sheets, and continues to process the remaining stopped sheets in the subsequent jam recovery process. The steps in the subsequent jam recovery process are known in the art and are not described in detail here.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modification and variations can be made in the paper jam clearing method and apparatus of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. 

1. A method implemented in a printing device for clearing a jam in a recording medium transport path during processing of a job, comprising: detecting a jam condition in the recording medium transport path including one or more locations of jammed sheets of recording medium and one or more locations of stopped sheets of recording medium; notifying a user the locations of the jammed sheets without notifying the user the locations of the stopped sheets; receiving a user input indicating that the jammed sheets have been cleared; and ejecting some or all of the stopped sheets from the transport path.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after the ejecting step, performing a jam recovery process, wherein the jam recovery process includes re-printing one or more pages of the job being processed.
 3. A printing device comprising: a recording medium transport path; a plurality of sensors located along the transport path for detecting recording medium jamming or stopping conditions; a control section for controlling the transport path; and a user interface section connected to the control section for generating output signals and receiving user input signals, wherein the control section detects a jam condition in the recording medium transport path including one or more locations of jammed sheets of recording medium and one or more locations of stopped sheets of recording medium based on signals received from one or more of the sensors, controls the user interface section to generate output signals to notify a user the locations of the jammed sheets without notifying the user the locations of the stopped sheets, and controls the transport path to eject some or all of the stopped sheets after receiving a user input signal via the user interface section indicating that the jammed sheets have been cleared.
 4. The printing device of claim 3, wherein the transport path comprises a print engine for printing images on the sheets of recording medium and one or more finishing units operating on printed sheets of recording medium.
 5. The printing device of claim 3, wherein the control section controls the transport path to perform a jam recovery process after ejecting the stopped sheets, wherein the jam recovery process includes re-printing one or more pages of a job being processed. 